When buying a new car, you can get a better deal by using a trade-in. You provide your existing vehicle to obtain a discount on the price of the new vehicle. You can trade in two vehicles – two cars, a car and a truck, an SUV and a truck, etc. – to gain a better discount on the new car price.
Can you trade in two cars for one?
You can trade in two cars or a combination of an SUV, truck, car, motorcycle, etc. This technique for decreasing the cost of the vehicle makes sense if you need a new vehicle and you need that vehicle to cost less. The car lot should give you a trade-in value for each vehicle.
You can get an idea of what this value will be by looking up the vehicle in the Blue Book. This industry trade publication lists the value of every vehicle by year, make, and model. It typically provides about four to five values for a vehicle depending on the condition of it at the time of trade-in.
Is it a good idea to trade in two cars for one vehicle?
It’s a great idea to trade in two vehicles for one, so long as you do not need the second vehicle. If your situation changes and you only need one vehicle, you can trade in a truck and a car to obtain a larger discount on the new vehicle.
By lowering the purchase price, you need a smaller or no personal loan. That saves you money in the long run since you do not spend as much on the vehicle or the interest rate.
While it is most common to use the vehicle trade-in for a new car or truck, you can also do trade-ins when purchasing a used or programmed car. That can get you a vehicle for nearly no money down and no payments. Used vehicles already cost remarkably less than new vehicles unless you purchase a collector car.
What is the best way to trade in two vehicles for one?
You need to know the trade-in values first. Do your research to determine a fair asking price for each trade-in.
Avoid mentioning what monthly payment you want. That causes the financing agent or sales agent to focus on your payment instead of the overall cost of the vehicle.
Auto dealers want a purchase agreement they can count on for a monthly payment. They don’t want to have to chase you down to get the money, and they don’t want to have to spend the money to repossess the vehicle. For these reasons, they will willingly open themselves to all kinds of negotiations. They want the sales, so they will accept a two-car trade.
Enter negotiations knowing what to expect. You need to know the value of your vehicles and how to negotiate.
Start negotiations in advance. Obtain multiple trade-in estimates, so you can negotiate wisely. You can start tentative negotiations online, meeting with a sales manager in chat, or via email.
Provide your maintenance records, so you can provide how well-maintained your vehicle is. This increases its trade-in value, as does its mileage. You get more money for lower-mileage vehicles.
Clean and detail your cars before you present them for trade-in. If any major repairs are needed, hold off until you learn what a pristine vehicle or a lesser grade vehicle would net you. It may not be worth the investment to make repairs before trading it in.
Your return on investment (ROI) would not be enough to warrant spending the repair money. If your repairs cost more money than you would get for a trade-in, then you should not make the repairs.
Benefits of a Two-Car Trade-In
If you only need one car, then trading in two vehicles for a one-vehicle is a good idea. You get a larger down payment amount that way. That saves you money in the end since you need to finance less for your auto loan.
To get the best price on each car, negotiate them individually. Never mention the price of the new vehicle you’re planning to buy. Instead, focus on the value of each vehicle you will trade-in.
Can you trade in two cars with negative equity?
You can, but it takes some doing. The term negative equity refers to a situation in which your vehicle’s auto loan balance exceeds the current fair market value of the car or truck. You owe more than your vehicle’s value. This can be the case, and you can still trade them in, but you have a bit of research to do in this case, too.
You need to look up the Blue Book or the NADA value of the vehicle. Once you know its fair market value, you can do one of two things to immediately trade in the car. You can rollover the debt if your lender allows this, or you can cover the difference if you can afford to do this.
Your third option means you need to wait for your new vehicle. You need to wait to build equity in the vehicles you have, which means more payments on them. These monthly payments will probably cost you more than just having one new vehicle.
A lot of whether it makes sense to do either of the top choices rides on the trade-in valuations.
A dealer’s salesperson might ask you about your target monthly payment, but stay focused on the value of your trade-in cars. Give them zero opportunity to negotiate the numbers in their favor. You want the most money for your trades.
Always start with the Kelley Blue Book or Edmunds.com, so you know what a competitive price for your vehicle really is according to its make, model, condition, and mileage. You can always sell your vehicles privately then use the money as a down payment.
Final Thoughts
Regardless of the research and the advance negotiations, the auto dealership will still want to examine the vehicles before accepting them and offering their credit on a new car or truck. This lets them make the final value estimation.
Your haggling won’t do any good if, when they examine the vehicle, they learn you lied. The best way to get a good deal is to honestly represent each vehicle. This means that the figures you get quoted in the email match what occurs on the lot when you get to make the actual purchase.
If you lie, when you get to the lot, the dealer’s decreased amount on the prices for trade-in will cause you to need more money from a loan or from out of your own pocket. If you don’t want to spend more in the end, you will tell the truth in the beginning. It makes all the difference in the world.
Taking care of your vehicles all along and providing them with good maintenance can provide a better trade-in value. A great cleaning job and detailing that makes the vehicle appear new, especially the interior can help.
When you trade two vehicles in, you should discuss each vehicle separately with each lot when you get estimates. This means you get a hard figure for each vehicle rather than the salesperson trying to give you a package deal.
This can happen, and it means a reduction in the money you get from the trade-in. Doing the autos separately earns you more money.
Also, ask about dealer financing. You might trade in two vehicles because you can not afford the loan. Perhaps you think you do not qualify for a loan. Many dealerships offer a loan program. They cut deals with local banks to provide lower qualifying terms, so they could give more loans.
This makes them money, and the banks typically purchase or assume the loans thereafter. This lets you build credit, and it gets you the car. Using this method can get you a car for a very small price, plus you get a low monthly payment because you spread out the payments across a typical loan length.
If money is tight, and you need to get a vehicle and save a little money in the bank for emergencies, that works better in many cases. You can do that by trading in two vehicles and remarkably reducing the cost of the new or used vehicle.
